One Dance
by SugarPunch
Summary: Feeling abandoned while Rose is tending all the guests of her family reunion, the last thing Pearl expected was to find a new friend.


Mod Sara's first one shot is a fact! It's a human family reunion AU sort of? Very soft fluffy Pearlmethyst. Enjoy!

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With a sigh Pearl sat down on a chair near the huge table with drinks and snacks. She considered letting her gaze fall on the strangers talking and enjoying themselves with their relatives, but instead she ended up staring at the snacks in front of her. Going to the family reunion of her friend Rose seemed like such a great idea when the woman with the pink curls had suggested it, but now that Pearl was here all she felt was disappointment. She'd thought that Rose would show her off; speak of her in pride. Tell everyone how they were the best and most loyal friends, but Rose had only introduced her to a few people and had then proceeded to talk about Greg. Why wouldn't she? He was her boyfriend. Pearl was just a friend.

The other people did not catch Pearl's interest at all. The only thing she could think of was how much she wanted to leave, although taking a sip of the punch was tempting, too. She decided that since it was free and nobody else was drinking it right now, it was okay to fill a cup for herself. She got up, did as she wanted, but when she proceeded to put the spoon back in the bowl, a voice came up from behind her.

"Yo, can you get me some too?"

Despite not being in the mood to talk, she couldn't ignore the question, so she turned around and offered the other her cup.

"Here. I'll get myself a new cup."

The person in front of her was a rather small female, possibly of her age. She was wider than Pearl, but who wasn't? The woman was basically a walking twig.

"Thanks!" The smaller one replied, happily accepting the cup and drinking all of its contents in one gulp. Without the blink of an eye she put the cup back on the table.

"Ahh, refreshing!" she grinned. Then, however, the grin disappeared and made place for a more interested expression. "Wait, who are you again? Rose has introduced me to so many people already, I don't think I've remembered even one name." A giggle followed, but Pearl could only smile uncomfortable in response.

"She hasn't introduced us. I'm not related to Rose. I'm her best friend."

"But then why are you standing here all alone instead of talking to some of the cool peeps? She didn't invite you for nothin', I'm sure."

Pearl sighed. "That's just it. She invited me. She's the only one I know here. Well, she and Garnet, but Garnet doesn't talk much. I'd hoped to spend time with Rose, but she's busy with everybody else and I'm left on my own." Her arms wrapped themselves around her body as she turned around. Maybe she should grab that cup of punch and leave. There was nothing of her interest here.

"Amethyst."

Pearl's hand had reached for the spoon in the punchbowl, but she stopped her actions when the smaller one spoke up again.

"My name's Amethyst. Now you know me, so you can come talk to me."

Pearl peeked over her shoulder to see Amethyst grinning so widely that she couldn't help but show a truthful smile herself.

"Thank you. I'm Pearl." She grabbed her cup of punch and turned around again as Amethyst continued to speak.

"Pearl... That's a nice name. And you said you were a friend of Rose right?"

Pearl nodded. " _Best_ friend, yes. I'm assuming you are a relative?"

"I guess? I'm like, the sister of her cousin's boyfriend. Not related in blood but I'm sure as hell a part of the family." Amethyst smiled, but her smile soon disappeared when she saw the bitter expression on Pearl's face. The strawberry blonde was having trouble enjoying herself even though Amethyst was trying so hard to entertain her. Someone else would probably give up and leave, but the lilac-haired woman put her smile back on her face and only tried harder.

"I'm sure Rose considers you part of the family, too. Otherwise you wouldn't be at her family reunion, right?"

Pearl gave a small nod, but she wasn't so sure about it. It wouldn't surprise her if she had just invited Pearl so she could feel included. Sadly, it had the opposite effect.

Amethyst, however, was talking to her and trying to make her feel better. And it worked, but it worked so little that Pearl couldn't show it yet.

"I don't think talking about Rose is a good idea. Why don't you tell me a little more about you?" Pearl suggested. This made Amethyst grin wider than ever before – Pearl wasn't sure if she liked this or if it scared her.

"Alright, sure. Anything you want to know in particular?" Amethyst asked. Pearl felt like she was hinting at something, but the blonde couldn't quite catch what. So she just shook her head.

"Not really. Anything you wish to tell is fine."

Before talking, Amethyst cleared her throat and found a chair to sit on backwards. It frustrated Pearl that she wouldn't sit on it normally, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Well, for starters, I'm into wrestling. That's why I've got these big guns of course." With a grin she showed off her arm muscles. Pearl couldn't help but smile and shake her head.

"Of course that also means I eat a lot. Food is the best."

"What's your favorite food?" Pearl asked, thinking of the dishes she favored.

"I'm always a slut for Doritos." That was not quite the answer she'd expected, but it looked like Amethyst was happy with her words.

"Oh, I'm also really into –" Amethyst didn't finish her sentence, leaving Pearl confused, but as the lilac haired woman let her gaze go up, she noticed that she was just listening to the music.

"No way," Amethyst exclaimed after a few seconds, "this is my jam!"

She got up and started moving. Pearl assumed it was supposed to be dancing, but it wasn't a dance she could get into. She remained in her place, taking a sip of her punch occasionally.

"Yo, why aren't you dancing? This beat is sick. Come dance with me!" A hand was reached in Pearl's direction. She felt extremely flustered and immediately noticed her cheeks warming up.

"My drink's not finished," she blurted out.

Amethyst raised an eyebrow. "Then put it on the table, come on." She grabbed the blonde's arm, giving her just enough time to place the cup on the table. Pearl barely had the time to adjust when Amethyst started swinging her around. It wasn't unpleasant. In fact, after a minute or so, Pearl started to enjoy it, and she even let out a giggle.

It was easy to let the lilac haired woman lead her, but Pearl wanted to show off her own dancing style. So she took a little more distance and started doing what she was best at: ballet. It looked kind of silly to see her dance so gracefully while the music was much more energetic. It did catch Amethyst's gaze, though. In fact, she stopped her own dancing and stared at Pearl for a while, before grinning widely.

Pearl opened her eyes, a smug smile on her face, noticed the grin and stopped dancing immediately. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she moved her gaze away from the other. "Why are you grinning?" she asked defensively.

"Nothin'," Amethyst replied casually. "You just looked so happy – all thanks to me."

Pearl's flusteredness disappeared within a nanosecond and instead of looking away she now gave the other a glare. Before she could say something, Amethyst burst into laughter. "Why are you laughing?!"

"Why shouldn't she?" Pearl had been so busy with Amethyst that she hadn't noticed the tall woman with incredible curls move closer to them. She looked amused, as if she thought the whole scene was cute.

"Yeah, Pearl, why shouldn't I?" Amethyst teased, still grinning. Luckily, Pearl didn't have to answer, because Rose took over the conversation.

"I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves over here. Though, Pearl, I have to ask you something. I was wondering if you wanted to be my right hand for the rest of the evening?"

Pearl's eyes widened and she looked at Rose in disbelief. This is what she had wanted at the beginning of the evening and she knew her answer.

… if it wasn't for Amethyst interrupting. "Hey, now you can finally spend time with Rose, just like you wanted so badly!"

The woman probably meant well, but Pearl's answer suddenly got stuck in her throat. In all honesty, she'd completely forgotten about Rose when she was dancing with Amethyst and she had really felt happy – thanks to Amethyst, just like she'd said.

"Well?" Rose pushed. Pearl adjusted her stance to something a little more formal and finally answered. "I'm sorry, Rose, but I'm going to say no. I have a new friend so spend time with." Carefully she looked at Amethyst, who beamed with joy. Rose, however, seemed very disappointed. "Very well. Enjoy yourselves." The tallest of the three turned around gracefully and made her way back towards the rest of the party.

Pearl hadn't noticed Amethyst's grin disappear until the smaller woman spoke up. "But… didn't you really want to stay with Rose all day? Why did you say no?" She seemed genuinely confused.

Pearl smiled softly. "It's very simple, actually. I wanted to spend time with her because I didn't know anyone here. But… now I know you. Thank you." Amethyst still looked confused, but her smile returned. "My pleasure," she replied playfully. "So you're up for more dancin'?"

Pearl smiled and nodded. "Of course," she added, before she was dragged back up on the dance floor by Amethyst once again. This time she didn't even mind. Having fun was more important.


End file.
